Ballybough

Because we didn’t need to be at the airport until 11:30 we planned to have a sleep in before checking out of the Avni Hotel. It had been a hot still night so the freestanding air conditioning unit roared all night. MDW, who had been awake for hours when I stirred at 5:30am told me the floor was wet. The source was the air conditioner so we switched it off for safety reasons. The carpet squelched under foot. I tried to mop it up with the white bath mat which quickly turned brown. Oh my goodness, what have we been walking on. We dawdled around over a few cups of tea then departed. I told Basil about the water but he wasn’t concerned, he said a hose must have come loose. At the underground we check our balances on our Oyster card to make sure we have the £2.80 to get to the London City Airport. Yep I’ve got £3.50 and MDW has £8. I think someone didn’t pay their full fare. She must have slipped through the gates without swiping her card.
Three changes on the underground and 1 hour later we are at the airport. Because it was my birthday we, or should I say I ate a huge chocolate donut. We board the British Airways flight to Dublin, there was a bit of turbulence as Storm Ali was still blowing a gale but we landed safely in wet cold conditions. 10 degs at 3pm. We could still be in Canberra but this is Dublin and we can’t wait to interact with the local friendly Irish people. We get through customs, get our bags and buy our Leap cards for the public transport. Bus 41 from bus stop 15. We join the hoards of other passengers waiting for the city bus trying to get some protection from the rain. Bus 41 arrives it’s not the one we want, there are 2 bus 41s that go to different locations, but eventually the one we want arrives. MDW shows the driver our tickets but he says in a not too friendly manner, “over there” pointing to a card detection point. MDW tries holding the bus card over the detector but it rejects it. “Don’t swipe it, just hold it steady!” he says. By now there are twenty people queued up in the rain waiting to get on board. Eventually one of the bus cards work but the bus driver is getting annoyed and tells us to just get on. I throw the bags in the luggage hold and we find a seat thinking this guy isn’t too friendly. I keep monitoring Google Maps making sure we get off at the right stop which we do. Just over a block to our apartment and under the shared umbrella we find the Dublin Central Apartments. We walk up a couple of steps and find the door open but we were entering a private residence and fortunately a staff member from the apartments called out to us telling us the entry is next door. Two floors up but four flights of stairs we get to our room. It’s great, modern, large with a kitchen and a fridge. There are also laundry facilities so washing will be done. But first we need milk for a cup of tea.
We venture out again, head of to Costcutters to get milk and have tea. It’s fairly bucketing down. Whilst waiting for the walk sign to light up cars manage to drive through puddles on the road spraying water over our already wet legs and feet. We have our cup of tea and search for somewhere nice to eat. We decide to go to McGraths Pub for dinner, great looking food, even curly fries. 700 meters down the road. It’s freezing and MDW is not dressed for the current weather. Huddling under the umbrella which is a challenge because of a slight height difference, one of us gets rained on more the the other. I am stooping a bit but poor MDW still gets wet. We are checking the iPhone to make certain we are heading in the right direction. A nice guy in a car stops in the middle of the road asking if we need help, we must have looked like tourists. McGraths pub we say and he says keep going, just down the road, we arrived drenched at the pub and find a table. I reacquaint myself with a pint of Smitwicks. It’s been more than four years but it still tastes great. Up to the bar, I ask for a menu. “We don’t do food since the problem with the kitchen”. Not sure what the problem was but it’s cold, wet and getting dark, maybe take-a-way on the way back to our apartment. Actually we are not really that hungry so we get some hot chips, bread and butter and settle for chip sandwiches and cups of tea. First time we’ve eaten bread in a week.
We are going to be moved to a ground floor apartment tomorrow, MDW says that’s the best news in days, they must of observed us struggling up the stairs, these are the friendly Irish we were hoping to meet.Read more